First Glance
by Mayhem N. Jeans
Summary: A younger Estar is working a job with her mentor, a Zabrak named Oalvir, hunting down a target when a Jedi interferes and makes things messy. She meets someone who will come back into her future later on. (And I just realized I had posted an earlier draft of this without remembering, but this is the slightly better version, so I deleted the other one)


There always was something so alluring about the night city lights. The buzz of passing speeders, a cool breeze that was tainted with the scent of exhaust. Millions of souls flying by, each one focused on their own single intents. Groceries, bills, family, work, friends, etc. Things to do, places to be. Not a spare thought to spend wondering about the other people following the same airway as them. These were the moments that she wanted to savor, the quiet calm before the fragile fabric of peace would be shattered. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath-

"Hey,_ hey_, keep your head in the game, kid," A gruff voice warned in her ear.

Estar shook her head, "Sorry," She muttered, feeling those few wisps of serenity float away.

"Watch out for the target, ignore the others. Wouldn't want them to slip right past you because you're daydreaming,"

"I know," Her response came out a little sharper than she'd meant, so she repeated herself more softly, "I know," Having Oalvir constantly check her was irritating, but she knew the gruff Zabrak hunter was just watching out for her. Without him, she feared to imagine where she and Tytus could have wound up.

"Just watch for it, kid,"

Estar held up her macro binoculars, scanning the busy airways for the certain hot red speeder they were looking for. It would be a little easier, since earlier in the morning, she had slipped an infrared tracking beacon on it. Now it was only a matter of time until it would fly by, coming into range of their scanners. Once that happened, they would have a lock on it. And after that, well, it was game over for yet another poor sucker.

Senses razor alert, she watched the night traffic. But as the minutes passed by, she had to keep jerking herself awake. Being awake for 36 hours straight was beginning to wear down on her body and mind.

"Here," She felt a tap on her arm. Glancing down, she accepted the small bottle of hyper caffeinated drink offered to her, "Eyes open, kid. And get your bucket on, too. It's getting close to show time," Handing the binoculars over, Estar quickly downed the drink and tugged her helmet on over her thick black hair. She was always getting nagged because of how her hair could become a distraction, but she refused to cut it all off. For one muggy second, she waited for the air cycler to turn on. Once it did, she was rewarded a chillingly refreshing breeze of purified air. Her helmet's filters had been modified to release adrenals into her air supply, giving her mind a renewed sharp clarity. Shifting down into a crouched position, she waited for the signal.

As her legs began to cramp, though, she heard a sudden frantic beeping from the console next to her, "Target in range," she announced, getting up.

"Visual contact," Oalvir confirmed, picking up his sniper rifle, "it's show time, kid," He chuckled grimly as he took aim. The sniper rifle he was using was not the typical type; Instead of firing a blaster bolt of deadly energy, this one would fire a harmless EMP surge. Unless the target had any cybernetic implants, they would be unharmed. The engine of their speeder, however, was another story, "3, 2, 1…" Oalvir counted down as he locked on his target, "NOW!"

He fired, a bright blue shot flying out with a _pop_ as it soared through the traffic. Estar watched through her binoculars as the bolt collided with the target's speeder. Lights flickered on it a second, then it began to short circuit. All power drained from it, it quickly began to plummet. This was the cue.

Running as quick as her thin legs could carry her, Estar hurried to the other side of the building they were camped out on top of. She knelt down to another console on the ground and flicked the switch on. In the midst of the traffic, a large electric net sprang to life, startling dozens of drivers. The downed speeder fell right into the web, trapped like a fly. The little bounty hunter could see the target flailing, trying to get away, but that wasn't likely to happen.

Oalvir climbed up over the railing, dressed in an electronic protection suit, and turned on his jet pack. With a roar of hot air, he soared easily through the traffic and landed harmlessly on the net. Estar also climbed up, wearing a matching suit. She watched as Oalvir climbed across the netting to the speeder. The target, a lavishly dressed Devoronian, desperately picked up his blaster, only to discover that it also had been fried with his ship. Defeated, the Devoronian flung his hands up in surrender. Estar almost let loose the breath she was holding, but a flicker of movement caught her eye.

Turning around, she was suddenly knocked over by an invisible wall of force. Winded, she quickly got back up to see a robed figure jump past her. _ Jedi_, she realized. Oalvir saw this too, pulling out his blaster to fight. The Jedi landed just as easily as Oalvir did onto the net; perhaps he had the same armor on under his robes, Estar deduced. Oalvir stood steady as the newcomer approached him, a green lightsaber drawn. Estar started to climb over to help him, but his voice suddenly crackled over her comm, "Get Lokai if you can, but get_ away_!" He commanded.

Normally, she would have argued, but she knew her fighting a Jedi would be useless. Plus, this Jedi seemed to be particularly different. Dark haired and dark eyed, dangerous was written all over him. Pulling out her blaster, she could see Lokai running away across the other end of the net. She grabbed the railing and lifted herself over it, landing carefully on the netting. She was surprised by how wobbly the wires were beneath her feet, despite how sure and steady Oalvir and the Jedi were. Stumbling slightly, she was relieved to see Lokai having as much trouble as she was. His foot slipped through the netting, but he managed to pull himself out, running across to the opposite building. Not one to be out done, she raced after him.

Before Estar could get half way across, though, the Jedi saw an opportunity. Diverting his attention away from the tough Oalvir, the Jedi focused on the smaller hunter. He reached out his hand and another wave of energy bowled her over. She barely had time to grab the netting before she fell off of it. Trying to get back up, she felt the net wobbling as the Jedi advanced towards her.

Now she was the fly.

"Hey!" Oalvir called out, firing a shot at the Jedi, "Hey, ugly!" he fired again.

The Jedi turned away from Estar, the older hunter's taunts doing the trick. With the Jedi distracted, Estar scrambled up onto her feet and hurried after Lokai, who was almost across. She did not dare look back to Oalvir or the Jedi.

Lokai kicked open a window and jumped in, vanishing into the shadows, but Estar was close behind. Her helmet illuminated the empty apartment he had broken into. Cluttered furniture was scooted around from where he had made his dashed escape. Navigating through the pathway, she darted after him with her stun blaster out. He was not too good at running away for he left a trail of things he had knocked over in his haste. The trail led out back into the streets.

The Devoronian was toast.

Estar turned the corner where she would finally be able to run him down. But when she ran into the alley way, it was empty. Senses primed and alert, she carefully walked in, ready for anything.

"Not so fast there, pipsqueak," A cocky voice said behind her. Estar whirled around just as he swung a metal crowbar at her. She ducked, barely in time, but the bar still collided with her visual sensors of her helmet. For a second, the world blacked out into static, useless, so she tugged off her helmet in one smooth gesture. The air tasted hot and dirty and her hair was sticking up from the sweat. She spat a small spray of blood; she must have bit her tongue or something.

Lokai froze, suddenly surprised, "What? You're a_ kid_?" he asked, perplexed and dropped the bar.

"Yep," Estar replied and held up her stun blaster. The Devoronian eyed her carefully, confused by this new development.

"How old are you, like ten? Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Fifteen. And that is the lamest joke, pal. I've heard a thousand times,"

"There's not many good jokes when it comes to pre-pubescent toddler mercenaries. Especially when they've got a gun at your face. It's actually rather sad,"

"Tyresius!" A voice yelled out, startling both of them. Estar looked past his shoulder just in time to see the Jedi round the corner, "Tyresius Lokai, freeze!" He ordered. Estar and Tyresius put their hands up. The Devoronian did not look too keen to have the Jedi there either, Estar noted.

"She's just a kid, Clotus, let her go," Tyresius said turning to face him, "And I promise I'll behave from now on,"

Estar ruffled up, "No, he's my bounty," She asserted, aiming her weapon at the Jedi. She wasn't going to think about where Oalvir could be or how dumb pointing a gun at a Jedi was.

"Tyresius Lokai is under arrest. I am taking him into the custody of the Republic where he will be tried for his crimes. If you continue to interfere with justice, I will take appropriate measures," The Jedi stared her down, his black eyes surprisingly cold.

She was a Chiss, the master of cold stares, and returned his glare evenly.

He did not back down.

"Well, I'm not sticking around to watch this," Tyresius said, slowly walking away.

"Oh, no you don't!" Estar replied, and twisted to him, firing a stun bolt. He didn't even see it coming, just fell over unconscious with a look of surprise on his face.

Clotus looked at the Devoronian, "Well, that got him to be quiet," he said, but turned back to the little hunter, "Now-"

Before he finished his sentence, Clotus ducked as a metal bar was flung at his head. The Chiss girl had thrown it and now had her gun out. Clotus reached for his lightsaber, but she fired, twice. He twisted out of the way of the first shot, but landed right in the line of fire of the other. Electrodes went off in his brain as it overloaded. He fell to his knees, shocked and stunned. The girl stood over him, gun cocked to his head. Neither said anything as she fired it, sending another stun bolt into his brain.

Instantly, he blacked out and slumped over. Estar paused a minute, surprised how things turned out. Here, in front of her, was a passed out Jedi that she knocked out.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tyresius moving, "Good show," he grumbled, "Now, I'm out of here, kid,"

"Actually," she said as she turned to him, "I think it's past_ your_ bedtime,"

He grimaced as she stunned him, again.

Estar pulled out her comm to call Oalvir. He should be ok, she told herself, as she waited for him to pick up. And waited. And waited. The Zabrak wasn't answering. She knew what that probably meant. Estar looked at Tyresius. Without Oalvir, Tyresius wasn't much good to her. Plus, the Devoronian actually didn't seem like a half bad character. She and Tytus were good on cash for now. Besides, she could easily get another job, one that didn't involve escorting live bounties. And the Jedi? She looked around the alley, wondering what she could do with him. She wasn't going to kill him; he was currently unarmed and unconscious. Oalvir made her promise she'd never kill a sleeping person. As trivial as that may seem, there was a certain honor to it that she wanted to uphold. Plus, getting in deep with the Republic was never a good idea either.

With a shrug to disguise her actual disappointment, Estar quickly sifted through Tyresius's pockets, hoping for some extra cash. Rewarded with a good 50 credits, she walked away. This bounty wasn't going to be her fight anymore. She had bigger worries now.


End file.
